Casa Loma

Casa Loma

Of all the Grand Houses ever built on this escarpment, Casa Loma is the Grandest. Its name means “House on the Hill” in Spanish. It was the Romantic Vision of industrialist Sir Henry Pelliatt (1859 – 1939).

Pelliat made his fortune harnessing the power of Niagara Falls to electrify the streets and homes of Toronto. A flamboyant entrepreneur, he was fascinated by the middle ages. Pellatt was knighted in 1905 as patron and commander of the Queen’s Own Rifles, a Canadian Militia Regiment. His towered mansion designed by architect E. J. Lennox in 1909 is an extravagant medieval fantasy.

At 98 rooms, it is Canada’s largest house. The Pellatts moved into Casa Loma in 1913 and lived there for eleven years. In 1924, faced with severe financial setbacks, Pellatt was forced to sell his cherished home. After an unsuccessful attempt as an apartment-hotel, in 1937 this landmark was taken over by the West Toronto Kiwanis Club who continue to manage the castle as a popular tourist attraction.